Let’s take a time-out from the unrelenting gloom that seems to be our global condition and focus on some good things.
At least once a week I take a lunchtime stroll around downtown. Many of you have heard me talk about my concern for the heart of city, and its need for rejuvenation. The disused offices, workshops, and retail sites in the streets around St John’s is disheartening.
When I mention this to folks they often reply, “You should have seen it a few years ago!” It’s hard for me to imagine how it looked before the EJI and the Biscuits began their wonderful work of transformation to the north and east of our campus. That’s why I‘m feeling good about our downtown.
But here’s more. Lunchtime walkers today cannot fail to see positive changes taking place, brick by brick. (Actually, I should say ‘girder by girder’, because I’m not sure there’ll be many bricks involved.) There are
- the two hotels nearing completion,
- two new restaurants on North Perry Street in the early stages of construction,
- the brand new demolition of the disused tire shop on the corner of Perry and Jefferson which will soon become a parking area. (This is directly opposite the doors to our Parish Hall, with potentially happy opportunities for St John’s people when our parking lot gets full on Sunday mornings!)
There’s a sense of hope and newness in the streets around St John’s. Very soon, the foot traffic around our campus will increase greatly. This will give us more opportunities to connect with our neighbors and with local business and tourist populations. We need to explore how we can enjoy new relationships and new opportunities for mission and evangelism that these exciting developments open up.
But there’s more! Tomorrow afternoon I will be joining fellow downtown clergy at a meeting with Main Street America – a consulting agency that is holding some meetings in Montgomery with the goal of leading further regeneration. I’m excited by this, and I’ll let you know what happens at the meeting.
God has placed us in a wonderful and strategic place. In recent times, mission and evangelism in the downtown has been difficult-to-impossible. Now businesses are moving in, leisure venues are opening up, and downtown has new life. Let us seize the opportunity to be the best downtown parish we can be, serving our neighbors and visitors with the love of Christ.